Agunechamba and the Danger of False Narratives

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The alleged graves found dug on the top floor of a hotel in Oba, Anambra State. Could these have been fish ponds?

 

Late last week, the social and traditional news media were awash with stories of the discovery of thirty graves on the top floor of a hotel in Oba in Idemili South LGA of Anambra State which led to the demolition of the hotel by the state government. A shrine was also reportedly discovered at the place said to be used for criminal activities.

The news had come as a mixture of shock and elation to members of the public who have been traumatized by the activities of criminals and their collaborators in the state.

But soon after the report of the discovery and the demolition, some people began to doubt the veracity of the claim by the government that graves were discovered in the hotel. Some of the chief questions included how and why graves should be dug upstairs.

Others also wondered why the graves were not covered. Yet others asked why no human remains were reported to have been found in any of the graves. This led to the conclusion that the so-called graves might actually have been old fish ponds, especially given their sizes.

A day after, the owner of the hotel, Mr. Calistus Udoka Ejim, spoke out against the allegation of his hotel being used as a criminal hideout and containing thirty graves, with items like a shrine, blood, and firearms.

In a newspaper report, he expressed shock over the claims, explaining that he initially rented the property in 2021 from one Mr. Nwagbo, popularly known as Ichie Aja, said to be the younger brother of the President-General of Oba.

According to Mr. Ejim, he later purchased the hotel in 2023 after being persuaded by the seller, even borrowing money from a bank to complete the payment.

In the said report, he also revealed that disputes with Mr. Nwagbo began shortly after the purchase, and alleged that the seller wanted to reclaim the property. Mr. Ejim then alleged that the demolition might have been orchestrated by Mr. Nwagbo, possibly out of malice.

When questioned about the alleged graves discovered in the hotel, Mr. Ejim stated that the structure existed before he purchased the property. He claimed that the seller had described it as a fish pond at the time, even as he challenged the police to come and investigate him.

Ejim said in the report that he was on his way to Awka to report the matter to the police and to request a thorough inquiry into the matter, including questioning the seller about the said graves.

On the allegations of a shrine, firearms, and blood found on the premises, Mr. Ejim vehemently denied them, challenging anyone with evidence to come forward and provide either video or pictorial proof.

Mr. Ejim also expressed deep dissatisfaction with the government’s decision to demolish the hotel, which, he said, he acquired barely three years ago. He also criticized the authorities for not conducting a proper investigation before taking action and vowed to seek compensation for the damages incurred.

Now, between the government’s story and that of the hotel owner, which sounds more believable? One is indeed inclined to believe the hotel owner for the simple reason that the government failed to follow commonsense procedures on the matter.

Why move to demolish a property without adequate investigations? Even if criminals visit the hotel, is it enough to warrant demolishing it without inviting the owner for questioning? Is there any hotel that criminals don’t patronize?

Indeed, the more one looks at the demolition of the hotel in Oba, the more it looks like a precipitate action that may not be too far from the result of a whistle blowing from a rival or enemy.

While it is our prayer that criminality be stamped out from our society, we nevertheless advise that government should err on the side of caution in order not to wrongly demolish an innocent person’s property; lest one day, tenants of a house may return from work and see their building in ruins just because security agencies and the government discovered that a yahoo boy lives there.

We urge the government and the security agencies to therefore ensure that proper investigations are carried out before the demolition of any building to avoid hurting innocent people. Indeed, it is better for a hundred criminals to go free than for an innocent person to be wrongfully made to suffer.

What government should have done in that Oba case was to have first sealed the building, pending the conclusion of investigations. Not inviting the owner for explanations before carrying out the demolition has opened the door to the possibility of innocent people being victims of such in the future.

Already, opposition politicians in the state have been expressing fears about the possibility of the Agunechamba security outfit metamorphosing into a tool for intimidating perceived enemies of government. The government should jealously guard against this by ensuring that due process is followed or else the opponents of the government will be proved right about their fears.

We pray that sanity will prevail when future decisions are made by the government on such matters. We would not like to jump from one bad situation to another and we would also like the Agunechamba outfit to always give the true picture of things to avoid losing the confidence of the members of the public. That may just about deal a fatal blow to the outfit.

We pray and hope for a peaceful Anambra State.

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